 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Squidward
Date: 2015-05-02 02:26
I've been playing the clarinet for about 8 years now and I hold my own fairly well except for the fact that I can't play anything above a high E above the staff. Just for clarification I'm talking about this note.
![[E6]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/e6.gif)
There are trumpets in my high school band that can play higher than this, and quite frankly, I'm embarrassed. I can sometimes squeak out the F above this but it all sounds horribly out of tune. Most of the time, when I try to play these high notes, no sound comes out of my clarinet at all, no matter how much I attempt to tighten up my embouchure or how much air I put through the horn.
I use Vandoren strength 3 reeds. This may be contributing to my problem, although I'm not certain. I've toyed around with 3 1/2 reeds and I find that while my high notes sound slightly fuller and less disgusting, it takes twice as much air to maintain a full sound on lower notes, and going over the break quickly is much more difficult. Either way, my range caps out at that stupid E.
From what I understand, the clarinet isn't like brass, where you have to work for years to expand your range by even a few notes. Now, I could be wrong, but it seems to me that novice players can pick up the horn and quickly be transcending three octaves (perhaps with an awful tone quality, but hitting notes nonetheless). So I can't help but wonder why me, a person who has been playing this instrument for 8 years, can't manage to hit anything above the note I discussed previously.
Knowing that the clarinet can play up to five octaves, I'm really limiting myself here. My lack of range (among a host of other problems, but that's a conversation for another thread) is preventing me from playing first clarinet in my high school band and I figure that it will only continue to become more of a hindrance as I progress into college band next year. I am looking for any and all tips to help me fix this problem.
Thanks in advance.
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Author: Chetclarinet
Date: 2015-05-02 02:56
I have a few suggestions to increase your range: 1. High notes are just re-organized low notes. Play a slow chromatic scale from low a to low e flat(fundamental register , then a chromatic scale with the register key added which produces e-b flat. Do not change your voicing or embouchure. A. Rey critical element here is to make sure you do not have to much lip over the bottom teeth, and even more critical -the reed must be inserted a out 3/8 of an inch past your bottom lip into the mouth. The reed should feel as if it is standing up in front of your tongue. Test the insertion level with your tongue. Then proceed to the fifth partial register with exactly the same fingering pattern, but with the left first finger lifted and the right hand aflat-eflat key added after high C sharp- this pattern produces the notes C sharp to high (fifth harmonic). It is not necessary to change voicing or embouchure to produce these notes. Another quick way to check if your bottom lip and reed insertion are correct--play first space f,and have a friend open the register key for you-c above the staff should pop right out. these suggestions are obviously my opinion--good luck. Fifth partial high notes correctly played will improve your sound in other registers and aid with articulation and response. Good luck!
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Author: AAAClarinet
Date: 2015-05-02 03:44
Hi Squidwad, first I would recommend not trying to "firm up" too much for the high notes. If you don't already, get your reeds well balanced, and stay relaxed in all registers. I'm not saying you shouldn't have a firm embouchure, but don't bite to play hi notes. If the 3.5's feel too hard then the 3 might be just fine, just get them balenced. And also, find the point were the reed starts to separate on the mouthpiece and place your lower teeth (lip) at that spot. What mouthpiece are you using and how sharp/flat are your high notes?
AAAClarinet
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Author: JHowell
Date: 2015-05-02 04:08
Squidward, have you been playing 8 years without a teacher? That's where I'd start; the internet will have all kinds of ideas about what might be wrong and what you might do -- for instance, I find that students who do not control their oral cavities with tongue position and try to play high notes with a low tongue position and correspondingly large oral cavity tend to have the kind of problem you describe -- but I reckon a good teacher could pin it down pretty quickly. Without hearing and seeing you, we're all just guessing.
As a more-or-less Pittsburgher myself, I know there are a few good teachers in the area. : )
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Author: Squidward
Date: 2015-05-02 04:35
Chetclarinet: Thank you for the advice. I will try this exercise.
AAAClarinet: I play on a Hite Premiere mouthpiece. As for my high notes, they tend to be quite flat. I'm not familiar with balancing reeds, as I don't do any adjustments to my reeds, although this is something I've been thinking of looking into.
JHowell: I have in fact been playing 8 years without a teacher. You're right, too, I should probably invest in some lessons.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2015-05-02 05:08
Play a forte but not fortissimo low A. Gradually press the register until you pop up to the clarion E. Then gradually roll your left index finger down to go to the altissimo C# and fade it away to pp while maintaining support and pitch. Concentrate on making no embouchure change.
Then do the same on Bb-F-D, B-F#-Eb and so on up to Eb-Bb-G.
Keep the back of your tongue high and adjust the position of the middle of your tongue to favor ("voice") each register.
Basic reed adjustment is simple. Play open G and rotate the clarinet as far as possible to the right. Repeat, rotating to the left. If the sides don't match, use a knife or sandpaper to weaken the hard side. You can usually see where the hard area is by holding the reed up to a window or a lamp. I find it easiest to hold the reed between my left thumb and forefinger with the tip pointing down. I often mark the hard (dark) area lightly with the side of a soft pencil and then scrape away the mark.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-05-02 05:37
I HIGHLY endorse the suggestion of "AAAClarinet." You do NOT want to "firm up." That is the last thing you want to do in the altissimo because you pinch off the flow of air across the reed. The reed is automatically only vibrating up at the very tip. As you pinch off the reed (which is vibrating at a deficit already) you wind up with nothing vibrating.
I am also not much of a "voicing" guy. For me, it is just more air - you push a bit more with your gut and you do add SUPPORT to you embouchure (by that I mean you take control over what is happening, similarly to when you play a triple forte).
I also like the suggestion of taking things down to the primary level of the 'overtone series.' Play your low "C" (first ledger below staff). Now play the "G" that sits on the staff. That difference in feel, control, whatever you want to call it, is the same difference you feel moving from the clarion up to the altissimo. Concentrate on keeping your embouchure AROUND the reed/mouthpiece, keeping it OPEN. That should help.
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: chris moffatt
Date: 2015-05-02 09:06
"Knowing that the clarinet can play up to five octaves"
You may have some unrealistic expectations if you think this can be done on one clarinet.
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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2015-05-02 12:54
Get a private instructor. As Jack said, there are many great clarinet teachers in the Pittsburgh area. If you need help finding one you can ask your band/orchestra instructor, you could call over to one of the fine universities in the area (Carnegie-Mellon, Pitt, or Duquesne have great music schools; they used to take lessons from Mike Rusinek and Tommy Thompson from the PSO, although I have no idea if Tommy is still doing it), or you could go to a local music store and ask. Volkwein's near Robinson would be a good resource and a quick phone call would get your the information you seek.
We can give you advice, but without sitting next to you and actually seeing what you're doing, how your blowing into the instrument, etc. there's very little we can practically accomplish.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-05-02 17:10
I will stop at seconding the advice to arrange some in-person lessons. You've already gotten enough conflicting advice here that you could spend hours going around in circles trying to follow it and never find a real solution. When you describe something like this in words, you can easily miss something that's significant, especially when you don't really know *what the problem is.* you only notice the most obvious symptom. A competent teacher would have a better chance of helping you because he or she will both hear the problem (without having to rely on a verbal description) and see what you're doing physically that might be contributing.
Your range limitation is, in all likelihood, not the only part of your playing that is affected by whatever is wrong. You may be surprised once you get some effective help at what else in your playing may improve.
BTW, the reference someone above made to "5th partial" is not the same as "5th octave." I don't personally know anyone who can get 5 octaves out of a clarinet. The standard range in most the fingering charts is a little less than 4 octaves (C7), though a lot of players use non-standard fingerings to extend that a few more notes.
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Author: JHowell
Date: 2015-05-02 17:17
clarinetist04, Tommy and Mike both teach at CMU, Ron Samuels and I teach at Duquesne. Tommy and Ron both live south, nearer Carnegie. I don't know who teaches at Volkwein's, but I can provide contact info for the teachers already mentioned privately. I may even have suggestions if Squid can't travel very far or has financial constraints, but I would recommend one of them if at all possible.
Come to think of it, using an internet forum to find a teacher in a given area makes more sense than asking it why high notes are flat. If you want an answer that is on point, posting a link to a youtube video would be a good place to start. Although you do run a risk of the video going "viral," so maybe a lesson is better after all. : )
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